Iran Releases Maersk Tigris Cargo Ship

Rickmers Ship Management announced the Iranian government released the cargo vessel Maersk Tigris on Thursday after they captured the ship on April 28.

Iranian news sources insisted the ship belonged to America even though the ship flew the flag of the Marshall Islands. Patrol boats captured the ship due to a “long-running legal dispute between the Danish shipping firm Maersk and a private Iranian firm.”

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Hamid Reza Jahanian, the managing director of Pars Talayieh Oil Products Company, filed a lawsuit against the shipping company. He claimed his company hired Maersk in 2003 to transport “containers sent by Pars Talayieh to the port of Jebel Ali, the United Arab Emirates.” However, the customer never received the shipment.

An Iranian court told Maersk to pay Pars Oil Product $3.6 million. Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization said the country released the ship after they received confirmation Maersk will pay the fine:

Following the arrest of the vessel Maersk Tigris under the final judicial order for the legal case between Pars Talaeeyeh Company and Maersk Shipping Line, the Ports and Maritime Organization conferred with the Maersk Shipping Line and ensured the provision of a letter of guarantee for the enforcement of the judicial decision in this respect in the framework of mutual cooperation between the two countries, and the confidence to the good will of transport entities in fulfilling their obligations towards their clients. With the coordination and cooperation of other relevant enforcement and operational bodies, the required judicial permission was achieved and the mentioned vessel was finally released on 7 may 2015.

The Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf are a few of the most important shipping lanes in the world. The situation raised tensions due to the importance of the lanes. The United States sent USS Farragut “to monitor the situation.”